Travel Journal

Christmas Bells Are Ringing

(Monday 22 December 2014) by Rick Clot

It's Dec. 22nd and Christmas is just around the corner. This year we will be spending the day with our daughter and 8 year old granddaughter, June, having a nice turkey dinner and opening presents. Well, June will be opening presents while the rest of us watch. The young ones always seem to corner the market on present opening. But that's the way it should be. The grandkids get a lot, the parents get necessities for the house and I get the usual bag of pistachio nuts and maybe a package of underwear or socks if I'm lucky. Still, I look forward to seeing the smile on June's face as she rips through the wrapping. That's what makes Christmas Christmas. Not to mention the heavily laced eggnog. Last Saturday we went to dinner with three other couples to a Mexican restaurant we've never been to. My food came in a round, aluminum container that doubled as a doggy bag if you couldn't finish it all. It immediately brought back memories of Christmas as a young boy when my mom would buy a Sara Lee cheesecake for Holiday dessert that came in the same container. She'd give me explicit instructions not to eat any before the meal. Yeah, right. Like she thought I'd really listen. Sara Lee was whispering to me from the back shelf of the fridge as soon as I got out of bed. It's the little things that trigger the most fondest memories. Merry Christmas to all.